Impeachment panel begins

December 16, 2008

SPRINGFIELD -- State lawmakers insisted today they could fairly investigate Gov. Rod Blagojevich following years of criticizing him as a terrible leader as they opened unprecedented impeachment proceedings against him.

In the first hints of the drubbing to come, Democratic and Republican committee members struggled to tamp down their revulsion over the national embarrassment created by Blagojevich's arrest a week ago on charges he sought to sell everything from favorable government decisions to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama."There are many in this committee and many in this committee room who have been critical of this governor on a number of issues, but this committee must do its deliberations without regard to politics, without regard to differences of public policy and even without regard to whether the governor is competent and whether he's done his job well," said Rep. Lou Lang (D-Skokie). "It must only be about whether the governor has violated his constitutional oath."

Blagojevich continued his weeklong silence, but his defense attorney planned to represent him Wednesday at the impeachment panel's first day of testimony. Brushing aside repeated calls for his resignation, the Democratic governor signed a bill into law and, according to an aide, was reviewing prison inmate petitions for clemency.

Also Tuesday:

--Republicans at the state and national level railed at the Democratic-led decision of the full legislature to adjourn until mid-January, effectively ending hopes for a special election to fill Obama's seat. The impeachment committee will continue to work.

--In Chicago, Obama declined to take a position on how his Senate seat should be filled and said it was inappropriate to answer questions about any contact that took place between his incoming chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, and the Blagojevich administration. The Tribune has reported Emanuel is on secret recordings discussing the seat and recommending names of Senate successors.

--Aides to U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) said the congressman had met with federal prosecutors "for years" about corruption allegations. But his chief of staff acknowledged that none of those conversations touched on the federal investigation of the governor's alleged bid to sell the Senate seat.

The Tribune has reported that some Indian-American businessmen discussed donating to the governor to help persuade Blagojevich to support Jackson's Senate bid.